A very large variety and enormous quantities of beverages are prepared and distributed, for end use by the consuming public, in metal (typically, aluminum) cans of the type (sometimes colloquially called "pop-top") which are provided with an integral manually-operable feature for effecting an opening in the can lid in order that the beverage may be consumed directly from the can or poured into another container. Merely by way of example, the beverages available in such metal cans include: beer, soft drinks, fruit and vegetable juices, milk, etc. Often, the consumer simply drinks the beverage directly from the can after it has been opened by actuating the opening mechanism in the can top. However, the lack of sanitation in drinking directly from the can is self evident and notoriously well known. More particularly, while the beverage itself and the interior of a typical beverage can (prior to opening) is almost uniformly sanitary, the outside of the can in the region of the opening where the lips must be placed to drink from the can are rarely sanitary and are often most unsanitary. Even if the exterior of the container had been reasonably clean upon leaving the assembly line in the factor in which it was filled and sealed, the subsequent handling chain through the several commercial and personal links present a virtual likelihood of serious contamination by bacteria, virus and other organisms and by other unsanitary contaminants such as dust, dirt and grease. Other drawbacks of drinking directly from a metal beverage can include the fact that the can edge is sometimes uncomfortable to the consumer's lips and, more particularly, sharp, and therefore potentially dangerous, edges are sometimes encountered.
These problems have been addressed in the prior art with both integral means included with a beverage can as provided to the consumer and accessory means for attachment to a can by the consumer. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,557 to Park et al discloses a metal beverage container in which actuation of the opening tab automatically released an integral metal pouring spout. U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,425 to Combs discloses a closure lide for beverage containers which includes a folded resilient drinking spout that may be privoted upwardly and outwardly to permit accessing the beverage. U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,709 to Meins et al discloses an integral drinking and pouring aid for beverage cans in which the cover or lid surface is provided with a nipple-like mouth piece in the region of the can opening and which springs upwardly into an operative position upon opening the can. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,097, also to Meins, discloses a variation in which a drinking accessory fits over the entire upper surface of a can and is provided with a nipple-like mouthpiece in the vicinity of the can opening. The mouthpiece is flexible and can be collapsed in the vicinity of the outer surface of the cover. U.S. Pat. No. 3,372,832 to Yeater et al also discloses an accessory cover encompassing the entire lid of a beverage container and which further includes a closure cap and removable plug member to permit selective opening and sealing of the access port. These prior art approaches to the problem are certainly not without merit, but are complex to implement (particularly the integral means) and do not necessarily, positively perform the positive sanitation function sought.
Therefore, it will be appreciated that it would be highly desirable to provide means by which the significant advantages of manually openable metal beverage cans can be enjoyed, including drinking directly from the can once it has been opened, without the attendant drawbacks of exposing the lips and the system of the consumer to, at best, unsanitary conditions and, at worst, a potentially dangerous contamination. It is to these ends that our invention is directed.